Unknown Emotions
Seris’s sudden action caught me off guard for a moment.
But I immediately started calculating.
Not bad at all.
Now that the Saintess had come to the Empire, she would be politically isolated. Even if she received surface-level consideration, being ostracized was inevitable.
Obviously.
The people of the Empire avoided the Holy Kingdom.
The Holy Kingdom was closed-off and fanatical. On top of that, they possessed power that matched their zeal, making them an incredibly troublesome existence from the Empire’s perspective.
“Tsk.”
Katrina, who had been watching me from a distance, clicked her tongue. From her position as the Empire’s princess, the Saintess was hardly a welcome figure.
But I was different. I loathed the Holy Kingdom just as much, yet I knew the Saintess’s true nature.
Aside from the risk of corruption, there was no reason to avoid her. That was why having the chance to monopolize the Saintess was purely beneficial for me.
After all, I would eventually have to turn both the Empire and the Holy Kingdom into enemies. Including my own combat ability, I needed powerful backing.
And the Saintess was perfect for the role.
“Yeah. I’ll be counting on you.”
I welcomed Seris warmly. In my heart I wanted to greet her with a fist bump, but I held back.
“Hmph.”
Linea, sitting across from Seris, pursed her lips.
“Idiot.”
She turned her head away as if sulking.
I can’t even ask her about this.
Because Linea was a slave, her ears would automatically be sealed the moment she joined a class. Honestly, they had already made an exception for the practical lessons—couldn’t they just overlook it?
I’d have to make a suggestion to the dean later.
“All right, all right. Settle down.”
The professor at the lectern brought the chaotic atmosphere under control.
“Today we will be…”
The lecture continued like that.
Seris pretended to listen intently while sneaking glances at me. She seemed to think she was being subtle.
“Is my face that handsome?”
I could feel every single look.
I leaned over and whispered quietly into Seris’s ear. Her earlobes flushed red in an instant.
Yet true to her expertise at wearing masks, her expression remained perfectly calm.
“…I was just looking.”
“Sure you were.”
“Please stop teasing me.”
“I wasn’t teasing. I was simply stating a fact.”
“Sh… Be quiet.”
Seris growled under her breath.
“I still prefer that side of you.”
Unlike Isana’s natural, polite way of speaking, that fake formal tone was painful to hear. That didn’t mean I wanted her to spit out casual speech like Linea, though.
I just didn’t want her to hide her real personality.
“You look better when you’re bold.”
“…!!!”
Seris flinched at my words, then hurriedly buried her face on the desk.
She stayed like that for a long while. She’d sort herself out eventually.
I tried to ignore her and focus on the lesson, but—
Now what’s with her?
Linea was staring straight at me. She wasn’t even trying to hide it.
She gazed at me with piercing intensity, as if demanding attention.
She can’t even hear what I’m saying.
She must be bored. It was nothing new, so I simply ignored it.
For some reason her glare only grew stronger, but I figured it was nothing important.
That was how the class ended, sandwiched between two problem-filled women on either side of me.
“Should we head to the club room?”
Isana asked.
“Yes. Right now.”
Linea, whose ears were no longer sealed, answered. It might have been my imagination, but her tone felt icy.
It was completely different from how she usually treated Isana.
“Linea, you seem a bit off today…”
“I’m just tired.”
“…I see.”
Isana trudged away, radiating disappointment.
What’s going on with her?
She had been acting strange ever since meeting the Saintess yesterday. It was as if she had come to hate the world—her prickly mode showed no signs of ending.
Normally that mode only lasted about an hour. This was the first time I had seen it drag on for nearly a full day.
Had I done something wrong? I couldn’t think of anything.
“Linea, let’s talk for a moment.”
“What?”
“It’s been bothering me since earlier. I can’t let it go.”
“…When have you ever cared that much? Just forget it!”
Linea whipped her head away with a thoroughly sulky expression.
“Like I was saying, we should talk—”
As I tried to continue, a mana signal suddenly ran through my body.
“Looks like the conversation will have to wait.”
The dean was calling me. After days of total silence, he had finally returned.
“What is it?”
“I need to go to the dean’s office. Want to come along?”
It seemed he had only summoned me, but Linea and I had become something of a set package lately.
Separating us felt strangely awkward. These days, if Linea wasn’t by my side, something felt missing.
“…Go by yourself. I’ll let Professor Seah know.”
“Thanks.”
Leaving those words behind, I headed for the dean’s office. I had a lot of questions.
I quickened my pace.
Bang!
I threw the door open without even knocking.
“Is it because you’re young? You really are hot-blooded.”
“It’s one of the virtues of youth.”
“I didn’t mean that as a compliment.”
“It wasn’t intentional.”
While answering the dean, I glanced around the room.
“Just stand and listen.”
“I have quite a few questions, you see.”
“As you yourself said, you’re young. Standing for long periods is also one of the virtues of youth.”
I had been hoisted by my own petard. My own words had come back to bite me.
“Anyway, there is a reason I called you. Any guesses?”
“Is this suddenly quiz time?”
“I thought you might know.”
Hmm.
What was the dean’s intention behind saying that?
I thought it over carefully.
“To explain why I was summoned…?”
“Ugh. You really don’t know.”
“What is it, then?”
“Obviously, to let you know that I, the dean, have claimed victory.”
“Huh…?”
“You should have seen the hilarious expressions on those Holy Kingdom bastards’ faces.”
The dean burst into laughter, clearly delighted.
“Is that seriously the reason?”
“Well, I was planning to answer your questions while I was at it.”
The fact that he said “while I was at it” meant that really had been the main purpose. Just what kind of person was he?
“Go ahead and ask.”
The dean spoke with shameless confidence. A sigh escaped me, but there were plenty of things I wanted to know.
“Who summoned me there?”
“We’re still investigating. However, the most likely candidate is the Goddess of Purity worshipped by the Holy Kingdom.”
“Why would the goddess…”
“That I cannot say. What is certain, however, is that without the goddess such a summoning would have been impossible. Even I cannot freely manipulate the summoning circle the professors created with such painstaking effort.”
The Goddess of Purity.
The deity worshipped by Seris, the Saintess of Purity.
I had no connection to her whatsoever. So why was she showing interest in me?
The only guess I could make was possession. If the goddess had played a part in my possession, it wouldn’t be strange for her to want to discuss it.
Still feels off, though.
Why had she tried to make contact in such a roundabout way? If she had wanted a quiet conversation, there were plenty of other methods.
And then there’s…
The sensation Linea had described in the cave—“It feels like it has to be this way.”
That feeling kept nagging at me like a splinter in my eye.
“You seem to have a lot on your mind.”
“Of course I do. There’s no guarantee I won’t get dragged into something like that again.”
“Next time, even if you are summoned to the Holy Kingdom, there won’t be a problem. I’ve taken measures.”
“That’s good to hear.”
The dean was starting to look different in my eyes.
“Any more questions?”
“Rather than a question, I have a suggestion.”
I asked the dean to improve Linea’s treatment. Her case was exceptional at Rosewood Academy.
She was the first student to become a slave while still enrolled.
“Re-enrollment is impossible.”
“I know that. What I want is for Linea to be allowed to attend classes.”
Attending Professor Seah’s lessons was fine, but I wanted Linea to grow even stronger.
And there was nothing better than the academy’s classes for building a solid foundation across all fields. Since Linea had talent, she would absorb those lessons faster than most.
“That much I can do.”
“…You’re really okay with it?”
Wasn’t this one of the academy’s long-standing traditional rules? Could he really decide something like this on a whim?
“Didn’t I tell you last time? I am the dean. Who would dare oppose me?”
“Haha…”
He really was insane.
“Oh, and I almost forgot to mention it—you are now the Saintess’s escort.”
“…Pardon?”
He really was crazy. Of all the things to forget.
Escort? What?
It was so abrupt that I was left speechless.
“She is an honored guest from another nation. Wouldn’t it be stranger if she had no escort?”
“No, why am I the one being assigned to such an important role?”
“It’s a job only you can handle.”
“The Holy Kingdom has many powerful individuals. There must be plenty who are stronger than me.”
“The number of strong people in the Holy Kingdom is irrelevant. If anything, the Holy Kingdom itself may be more dangerous.”
The dean finished with a meaningful tone.
“The Holy Kingdom is more dangerous?”
“You may find out soon enough. You’ll hear the answer then.”
I was practically chased out of the dean’s office. But I didn’t have the mental space to worry about that.
The Holy Kingdom is more dangerous…
Perhaps what the dean had said was closely tied to the real reason the Saintess had come here.
Linea lay blankly on her dormitory bed. The club orientation was probably in full swing, yet she had no desire to go.
Just what is this?
It had started yesterday—or perhaps even before then. The fact that she no longer felt any skepticism toward her life as a slave.
Ethan had taken everything from her. Her family’s honor, her own honor, her freedom, her human rights.
He had stolen countless other things besides. That was why she should have hated and cursed Ethan for the rest of her life.
That would have been normal. Yet at some point, seeing Ethan no longer made her feel bad.
No matter how many times she repeated it to herself, no matter how hard she tried to deceive her own heart—when she saw Ethan smiling brightly, her lips would curve into a smile for no reason at all.
“No.”
Ethan had made her his slave, yet he treated her like an equal. He had freed her from the family that had tormented her all her life, and he had become her conversation partner when the only person she had was Isana.
Was that all?
He had taught her etiquette. He had gone so far as to sell himself just to take care of her.
Isana’s feelings toward her had been closer to admiration. Everything she received from Ethan was new to her.
“No.”
From some day onward, whenever she looked at Ethan her heart would tremble. When she felt his touch, her mind would go completely blank and she couldn’t do anything.
When he took care of other women, an inexplicable rage would surge inside her.
“No.”
When she was with him…
It was fun.
Laughing and chatting. Bickering with each other.
Whenever he praised her, she felt like she could fly.
She didn’t want to lose this daily life.
“It shouldn’t be like this…”
Yet the more she pictured a future together with Ethan, the more a smile rose to her lips.
Linea could not understand the reason at all.